Pedigree Petfoods
Pedigree Petfoods is a British company specializing in pet food. It is a subsidiary of Mars Petcare, a division of the American group Mars, Inc.. The company has factories in England at Melton Mowbray and Birstall, Leeds; and offices at McLean, Virginia.
History
In 1934, Mars Limited, a division of the large American confectionery company, that had been based in Slough since 1932, acquired Chappel Brothers in Manchester. This company took low-quality meat and canned it as dog food, branded as "Chappie".New dog food brands Pal and Lassie were introduced during the 1950s.
Mars Inc.
In 1968, Mars took over Kal Kan Foods of Los Angeles.In 1988, Kal Kan Foods changed the name of its dog food to Pedigree, the name Mars used to sell dog food outside the United States. The brand Chappie is still used in the United Kingdom. The next year, Mars applied their worldwide branding of Whiskas to their cat food branding.
In 1998, Kal Kan was the top-selling dog food brand but was going downhill. In the United States, its Pedigree Select brand became Cesar, used in Europe and Asia.